PREVIEW: Red Wings ready for Saturday’s divisional road tilt against Canadiens

MONTREAL -- The Detroit Red Wings will kick off their December slate with consecutive road games against Atlantic Division rivals, first battling the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Saturday night.

Puck drop between the Red Wings (12-7-3; 27 points) and Canadiens (10-11-2; 22 points) is set for 7 p.m., with TV broadcast coverage on Bally Sports Detroit. Ken Kal and Paul Woods will be joined by Daniella Bruce on the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).

After Saturday’s Original Six clash, Detroit will face the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

“They’re all important (points),” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “I think it’s more just simply about us and playing the game correctly.”

Winning four of its last five games, Detroit wrapped up a midweek back-to-back Thursday with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. J.T. Compher and Robby Fabbri each scored twice for the Red Wings, who have outscored opponents by a 20-7 margin since returning from the 2023 NHL Global Series in Sweden.

“It’s very difficult to win in this league,” said Detroit goalie Alex Lyon, who stopped 34-of-35 shots against Chicago for his third straight win. “When you got guys who have been through it before, whether it’s DP (David Perron) or J.T. (Compher) with the Stanley Cups, you just look around and obviously you add a guy like Patrick Kane, it’s pretty cool to see from my perspective. When you get in those pretty critical moments, that’s when it matters the most. It’s nice to have those guys around in moments like that.”

Captain Dylan Larkin (undisclosed) has missed the last two games, but will return to the Red Wings’ lineup on Saturday. This season, Larkin is tied with Alex DeBrincat for the team lead in scoring with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists).

“Our top-minutes player and No. 1 center,” Lalonde said about Larkin. “Our best player. He drives us all the time.”

Montreal is coming off a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Cole Caufield paces the Canadiens in scoring with 19 points (7-12—19), captain Nick Suzuki ranks second with 18 points (6-12—18) and Mike Matheson is third with 17 points (5-12—17). Like Detroit, Montreal has used a three-goalie system this season, with netminder Cayden Primeau, a Farmington Hills, Mich., native, stopping 24 shots against the Panthers.

Lalonde said an advantage of carrying three goalies is resting one while the club is on the road.

“We did it (Wednesday) and I thought it worked out well,” Lalonde said. “That was a really tough back-to-back. We played a late game in New York, guys probably got to bed around 3-3:30 a.m. That’s a tough turnaround, but give our guys credit for getting two points. We were able to keep Alex home, knowing he was starting the next night, and I think it helped.”